Pirates down Padres 7-1 for second straight win

The Pittsburgh Pirates snagged their second straight win following another gem from starting pitcher Mitch Keller on Wednesday night, downing the San Diego Padres 7-1.

Keller went six strong innings, giving up one run on just four hits with two walks and five strikeouts to move his record to 9-3 on the season and drop his ERA to 3.34. He’s on the fast track to be Pittsburgh’s rep in the MLB All-Star Game.

Offensively, Carlos Santana got things started in the first with a two-run homer, his eighth dinger of the year, and then Keller took it from there.

The Pirates got some padding with a big five-run seventh inning, including two-RBI singles from Connor Joe and Henry Davis. Davis went 2-for-4 with the two RBIs and also scored on the Santana homer earlier in the game. He has raised his average to over .300 and has been playing pretty well so far, a bright spot in a season that’s gone south in a hurry.

The Bucs are still fives gmes back of the Cincinnati Reds in the division at 37-42 but are just a half game back of the Chicago Cubs for third place. They’ll be back in action against the Padres at 12:35pm this afternoon.